The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine (October 2017) Vol.69 (4), Page 2181-2190

2181

Received: 5 / 8 /2017 DOI : 10.12816/0041514

Accepted:15 /8 /2017

Protective Effect of Date Palm Extracts on Cadmium-Induced

Infertility in Male Rats El-Sayed Mohamed El-Habibi; Magda Mahmoud El-Komy and

Heba Osama Saad

Physiology Division, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science,

Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt Corresponding author: Heba Osama Saad, heba_osama2014@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT Background: Infertility is a problem which affects one in six couples. However, male factor considers

solely responsible in about 20% of infertile couples and contributory in another 30–40%. Objective: The

aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of date palm pollen (DPP) and date palm seed extract (DPS) on

cadmium-induced infertility in male rats. Materials and Methods: Thirty six male albino rats were

divided into six groups (n=6) and received their treatment orally for 30 days: group 1, control; group 2,

(DPP): (240mg/kg) daily, group 3, (DPS): (100mg/kg) daily, group 4, (CdCl2): (5mg/kg) every other day,

group 5, (CdCl2 + DPP): CdCl2 as group 4, followed by DPP as group 2 (each dose given 2 hours after

CdCl2); group 6, (CdCl2 + DPS): CdCl2 as group 4, followed by DPS as group 3 (each dose was given 2

hours after CdCl2). Results: The current data exhibited significant decrease in the sperm quality, T, E2,

FSH, LH, aromatase enzyme, TAC, GSH, SOD and CAT, with marked increase in MDA& XO and severe

destruction in testis histoarchitecture in CdCl2 treated rats. However, there was a significant improvement

in all these parameters with DPP& DPS administration. Conclusion: consumption of DPP or DPS might

be considered as a functional treatment for retarding risks of infertility associated with cadmium exposure.

Keywords: Male infertility; Cadmium; Date palm pollen; Date palm seed; Antioxidants; Testis.

INTRODUCTION

Infertility is commonly defined as the

failure of conception after at least 12 months of

unprotected intercourse1. It is a major health

problem which affects approximately 15% of all

couples2, however, male factor considers

responsible in about 20% of infertile couples and

contributory in another 30–40%3.

Factors like diabetes, bronchiectasis, high

grade fever, long term medication, urinary tract

infection, sexually transmitted diseases,

epididymitis, testicular injury, un-descended testis,

mumps, orchitis, excessive alcohol, smoking,

exposure to heat and certain chemicals affect

spermatogenesis4.

Cadmium (Cd) and other heavy metals

and estrogenic-based compounds (e.g., bisphenols)

may account for the recent declining fertility in

men by reducing sperm count and testis function5.

Cadmium can affect human health through several

sources such as drinking water, food6,

manufacturing of batteries and pigments that

utilize Cd7, cigarette smoke

8, pesticides, rubber

processing9, electroplating, mining, alloy

preparation and plastic stabilizers

manufacturing7,10

.

Cadmium acts as an endocrine disruptor

and oxidative stress inducer in humans and

rodents5,11

. It has long been known to damage the

hepatic, respiratory and reproductive systems

including the ovary and testes12

, red blood cells13

,

the heart14

, bone diseases15

and the skeletal

muscles of rats16

. Renal tubular damage is

probably the most common adverse effect 12,15

.

Herbal medicines are gaining importance

and nowadays are being studied to find the

scientific basis of their therapeutic actions17

. Date

palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., Palmae) is native to

the Middle East region over centuries ago18

. In

traditional medicine, a suspension of date palm

pollen (DPP) is widely used as a folk remedy for

curing male infertility19,20

. DPP mainly contains

cholesterol, rutin, carotenoids, and estrone which

are known to exhibit gonadotrophin activity in the

rat21

. Its extracts contain oestrogenic compounds,

oestrones, gonad stimulating compounds that can

improve male infertility and elicit gonadotrophin

activity in rat models. The antioxidative effect of

DPP is mainly due to phenolic components, such

as flavonoids22,23

, phenolic acids, and phenolic

diterpenes24

, anthocyanins, procyanidins and

coumaric acid25

.

Studies have been increasingly showing

that date seeds possess significant nutritional

value, especially in terms of their fiber and

antioxidant content26,27

. Date seed contain different

chemical compounds such as saturated fatty acids

as stearic and palmitic acid, unsaturated fatty acids

Protective Effect of Date Palm Extracts…

2182

such as linoleic, oleic acids which could inhibit

the 5-α reducates enzyme, Zinc (Zn), Calcium

(Ca), potassium (K)28

, protein, fat, ash dietary

fiber. Also, seeds contain high levels of phenolics,

antioxidants26

, p-coumaric, ferulic and sinapic

acids, flavonoids and procyanidins25,29

and lipids,

which is either in wax, fat or oil form30

.

According to these findings, the present

study was undertaken to evaluate the positive

effect of date palm pollen (DPP) and date palm

seed extracts (DPS) in treatment of male infertility

induced by cadmium in rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Chemicals

Cadmium Chloride (CdCl2) was purchased

from Sigma-Aldrich (Saint Louis, Missouri, USA).

Ethanol was purchased from (Al-Gomohria

Company for chemicals, Abou-Zabal, Egypt). All

other chemicals were of analytical grade.

Preparation of DPP and DPS extracts

2 plant products (DPP and DPS) were

purchased from local market in Mansoura, Egypt.

DPP suspension was freshly prepared

daily by adding 5 ml distilled water to 1.2 gram of

powdered pollen with stirring for 10 minutes till

complete dispersion22

.

The (DPS) ethanol extract was prepared

by adding 120 ml of ethanol to 63gm of DPS

powder and left for 48 hours. Then the mixture

was filtrated and the precipitate was left to dry.

The dried powder was weighted to give (2.1gm)

DPS extract which was used to prepare the

required dose by adding 2.5 gm of the extract to

50ml of water.

Experimental animals

Adult male Albino rats weighing 185±

10g obtained from the Egyptian Organization for

Biological products and vaccines, Cairo, Egypt,

were used in this study. They were allocated in

stainless steel cages in an automatically

illuminated and thermally controlled room (22-

25°C and 12 hrs light / dark cycle) at the Animal

House, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University,

Mansoura, Egypt. They were fed on standard

chewing diet according to the National Research

Council, committee on Animal Nutrition (1995),

purchased from a local market at El Mansoura

city, Egypt. Animals received human care and the

present study conformed to the instruction’s

guidelines. The local committee approved the

design of the experiments, and the protocol

complied with the guidelines of the National

Institutes of Health (NIH).

Study design

After acclimation period of one week, rats

were divided into six equal groups (6rats/ group).

Rats were fed on standard diet and received their

respective treatment orally via stomach tube for 30

days as follow: group 1; normal control (NC)

group fed on standard diet without any

supplementation; group 2; (DPP): rats received

DPP suspension at a dose of 240 mg/kg daily22

,

group 3; (DPS): rats received DPS ethanol extract

at a dose of 100 mg/kg daily31

, group 4; (CdCl2):

rats received CdCl2 solution at a dose of 5 mg/kg

every other day23

, group 5; (Cdcl2+DPP): rats

received the same dose of CdCl2 solution every

other day as group 4, followed by an identical dose

of DPP suspension daily as group 2 (each dose

given 2 hours after CdCl2) and group 6;

(CdCl2+DPS): rats received the same dose of

CdCl2 solution every other day as group 4,

followed by an identical dose of DPS extract daily

as group 2 (each dose given 2 hours after CdCl2).

Sample collection and tissue preparation

At the end of the experimental period, rats

were fasted for 12 hrs, weighed and then sacrificed

under ether anesthesia. Blood samples were

collected in clean dry non heparinized centrifuge

tubes. Sera were separated by centrifugation at 860

Xg for 20 min at 4°C, and frozen at -20°C for

future biochemical analysis.

Rats were dissected, and the two testes

and epididymis from each rat were removed.

Cauda epididymys were cut into pieces in 5 ml

normal saline solution and used immediately for

sperm analysis.

The right testis was homogenized by

tephlon homogenizer in a 10 fold volume of ice-

cold saline solution, centrifuged at 860 Xg for 20

min at 4°C and the resultant supernatants were

frozen at -20°C for biochemical analysis, while the

left testis was kept in 10% neutral formalin

fixative for histopathological examination.

METHODS

Sperm count was estimated using the

haemocytometer following the method of

Majumder and Biswas32

. Percent of sperm

abnormalities and viability were estimated using

Casa Device.

El-Sayed El-Habibi et al.

2183

Serum testosterone was estimated by using

ELISA Kit, Diagnostic Biochem Canada Inc.

according to Winters et al.33

. Serum estradiol (E2)

was estimated by Enzyme linked Flurorescent

Assay (ELFA) technique using kits of Biomerieux

according to the methods of Dupont et al.34

.

Serum FSH & LH were measured by IMMULITE

1000 analyzers using IMMULITE FSH & LH Kit

purchased from Siemens Health Care Diagnostics

Products Ltd, USA according to Babson35

.

The quantitative measurement of

aromatase activity was performed by a solid phase

enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

(obtained from Beckman Coulter, Brea, Calif.,

USA), based on the sandwich principle, as

described by Roselli36

. Malondialdehyde (MDA)

(the end product of lipid peroxidation) level was

measured according to Rat Malondialdehyde,

MDA ELISA Kit, Catalog No. MBS268427.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was measured by

Rat Superoxide Dimutase (SOD) ELISA Kit,

Catalog No. CSB-E08555r.

Reduced glutathione (GSH) content was

determined according to Rat glutathione, GSH

ELISA Kit, Catalog No: E0294r. Catalase activity

(CAT) was determined by Rat Catalase (CAT)

ELISA Kit, Cat No. MBS2600683. The total

antioxidant capacity (TAC) was determined

according to Rat Total Antioxidant Capacity

(TAC) ELISA kit, Catalog Number:

MBS733414_48T. The Xanthine oxidase enzyme

activity was measured by Rat XDH / Xanthine

Oxidase ELISA Kit (Sandwich ELISA) Catalog

No. LS-F12985. For histopathology, the fixed

testis tissues, in neutral formalin, were dehydrated

through the ascending series of ethyl alcohol,

cleared in xylene, infiltrated and embedded in

paraffin wax. Transverse sections of testis were

cut at thickness of 5 µm and stained with Mayer's

hematoxylin and eosin stains according to

Weesner37

for further examination.

The study was approved by the Ethics

Board of Mansoura University.

Statistical analysis The results obtained were evaluated by

One Way ANOVA (analysis of variance) test and

post comparison was carried out with Duncan test.

The data were expressed as mean ± standard error

(mean±SE), where p≤0.05 is considered

statistically significant38

.

RESULTS

As shown in tables 1, 2 and 3, the

recorded data showed some significant increases

between the normal control (NC) rats group and

normal rats administrated with DPP or DPS

groups, indicating their safety and nontoxic effect.

However, obtained data recorded a significant

decrease in sperm count and viability with

significant elevation in sperm abnormalities of

CdCl2 rats group comparing to NC rats. While,

CdCl2+DPP or CdCl2+DPS groups showed a

significant amelioration in all the above mentioned

changes comparing to CdCl2 rats group (Table 1).

Additionally, a significant decrease in the level of

sex hormones (T, E2, FSH& LH) as well as serum

and testicular aromatase enzyme activity were

recorded in CdCl2 rats compared to NC group.

Meanwhile, administration of DPP or DPS after

CdCl2 succeeded to induce a significant

improvement in these biochemical parameters

(Table 2).

Table 3 recorded a significant increase in

testicular MDA level and XO activity associated

with significant decrease in TAC, GSH level, SOD

and CAT activities in CdCl2 rats compared to NC

rats group. While the co-administration of DPP or

DPS with CdCl2 caused a significant elevation of

these parameters.

The histopathological observation of testis

in control, DPP and DPS groups showed a normal

testis histoarchitecture. Testis sections of DPP and

DPS treated groups showed histological

appearance of seminiferous tubules (ST), with

arrangement of different stages of spermatogenic

cells, interstitial cells (Ic), sertoli cells (Sc) and

many sperms (S) were observed. However the

examination of testis sections of CdCl2 group

showed distorted and necrotic seminiferous

tubules (ST) and thickened oedematous interstitial

cells (thick arrow) with dilated and congested

blood vessels (CBV). There was also wide lumen

(W) with no sperms, multinucleated cells (arrow

head) disorganized germinal epithelium with

marked vaculation (V) and wide space from

plasma membrane and spermatogenic cells

(curved arrow). Also degenerated germ cells with

pyknotic nuclei (star) and fragmented sertoli cells

were seen. On the other hand, testis sections of

CdCl2+DPP and CdCl2+DPS treated animals

showed an improvement in the testicular histology

compared with the CdCl2 treated group, however

the co-administration of DPP showed more

improvement than DPS (Fig 1).

Protective Effect of Date Palm Extracts…

2184

Table 1: Sperm quality in control and different treated rat groups

NO week

Animal groups ANOVA

Control DPP DPS CdCl2 CdCl2+DPP CdCl2+DPS P

No of sperms

(x 104/g

epididymal

tissue)

8.31

±0.11

9.39

±0.16a

9.05

±0.13a

3.17

±0.10a

6.59

±0.09ab

5.23

±0.09abc

P<0.05

S

Sperm

Abnormalities

%

9.6

±0.58

7.4

±0.60

8.4

±0.69

52.5

±3.07a

25.8

±2.02ab

32.7

±2.00abc

sperm

viability%

73.0

±4.15

86.0

±2.08a

79.3

±2.61

25.0

±2.36a

58.2

±2.50ab

41.5

±2.92abc

Values are means ± SE (n=6)

a- significant compared to control.

b- significant compared to CdCl2.

c- significant of CdCl2+DPP compared to CdCl2+DPS.

Table 2: Biochemical parameters in control and different treated rat groups

NO week

Animal groups ANOVA

Control DPP DPS CdCl2 CdCl2+DPP CdCl2+DPS P

T (ng/dl) 752.6

±17.6

778.1

±7.48

790.3

±26.3

267.3

±27.7a

647.0

±24.3b

401.6

±28.7abc

P<0.05

S

E2 (pg/ml) 43.5

±4.66

52.6

±2.56a

46.1

±4.45

15.5

±1.49a

37.8

±1.05b

27.1

±1.81abc

FSH (mlU/mL) 0.52

±0.03

0.59

±0.04

0.53

±0.01

0.14

±0.01a

0.41

±0.01b

0.22

±0.02abc

LH (mlU/mL) 0.90

±0.10

1.50

±0.09a

1.20

±0.15

0.09

±0.01a

0.38

±0.08 ab

0.20

±0.06ab

Serum

Aromatase

(U\ml)

56.9

±5.83

60.0

±6.98

63.5

±6.37

13.4

±1.88a

44.2

±1.54b

26.9

±4.36abc

Testicular

Aromatase

(U/mg)

57.5

±8.22

63.2

±6.17

60.0

±4.92

12.5

±2.00a

39.9

±1.54b

20.9

±3.72abc

Values are means ± SE (n=6)

a- significance compared to control.

b- significance compared to CdCl2.

c- significance of CdCl2+DPP compared to CdCl2+DPS.

El-Sayed El-Habibi et al.

2185

Table 3: Oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers in control and different treated rat groups

NO week Animal groups ANOVA

Control DPP DPS CdCl2 CdCl2+DPP CdCl2+DPS P

MDA(nmol/g) 0.18

±0.01

0.14

±0.01a

0.15

±0.01

0.51

±0.02a

0.35

±0.01ab

0.41

±0.01abc

P<0.05

S

GSH (mg/g) 0.33

±0.01

0.36

±0.008

0.35

±0.01

0.05

±0.007a

0.20

±0.02 b

0.15

±0.01abc

SOD (U/g) 0.24

±0.03

0.30

±0.02

0.26

±0.01

0.07

±0.01a

0.20

±0.01b

0.14

±0.02abc

CAT

(µmol/sec/g)

0.31

±0.01

0.36

±0.02

0.35

±0.04

0.08

±0.01a

0.26

±0.01b

0.18

±0.01abc

TAC (mMol/g) 0.29

±0.01

0.32

±0.007

0.31

±0.007

0.07

±0.007a

0.21

±0.009b

0.12

±0.005abc

XO (ng/g) 0.16

±0.01

0.13

±0.03

0.15

±0.02

0.48

±0.01a

0.21

±0.01 b

0.37

±0.03abc

Values are means ± SE (n=6)

a- significance compared to control.b- significance compared to CdCl2, c- significance of CdCl2+DPP compared to

CdCl2+DPS.

Fig.1. Photomicrograph of a 5µm testis section stained with H&E representative of (A) control group, (B)

DPP group, (C) DPS group, (D) CdCl2 group, (E) CdCl2+DPP group (F) CdCl2+DPS group. Ic:Interstitial cells,

ST:Seminiferous tubule, SG:Spermatogonia, PS:Primary spermatocytes, SP:Spermatids, S:Spermatoza, SC: Sertoli cells,

CBV:Congested blood vessels, Arrow:Interstitial spaces, Arrowhead(:Multinucleated cells, Thickarrow:Thickened

oedematous interstitial cells, Curved arrow:Wide space from plasma membrane and spermatogenic cells, Star:Germ cells

with pyknotic nuclei, W:Wide lumen, V:Vaculation, GE:Germinal epithelium, L:Lyding cells.

Protective Effect of Date Palm Extracts…

2186

DISCUSSION

Infertility is a major health problem that

affects one in six couples39

, however, male

infertility causes was found to be about 50% of

infertile couples40

.

Exposure of the reproductive system to

heavy metals has been reported to be a major risk

factor for infertility and there has been an

increasing interest in the contribution of

occupational and environmental exposures to

toxic metals in declining sperm concentration and

human male fertility41

.

Cadmium is one of the most toxic

industrial and environmental heavy metals. It acts

as an endocrine disruptor and oxidative stress

inducer in humans and rodents5,11

.

In the present study, the obtained results

indicated that CdCl2 treated rats showed a

significant drop in sperm count with a significant

decrease in sperm viability, while the sperm

abnormalities were elevated significantly. These

results run parallel to Eleawa et al.42

who revealed

that the main cause of these results is the reduced

spermatogenesis due to increased oxidative stress

and the apoptotic mechanism observed in the

testes of the treated rats. This reduction in sperm

quality may be also due either to impairment of

the H2O2 removal system, which leads to

inhibition of steroidogenesis in the Leydig cells

due to an accumulation of H2O243

or to membrane

damage or macromolecular degradation incurred

by ROS44

.

Furthermore the administration of CdCl2

caused a significant reduction of sex hormones

(T,E2,FSH,LH), and this is in accordance with

Yang et al.45

who suggested that CdCl2 stimulated

apoptosis of the anterior pituitary. Additionally,

the loss of testosterone feedback can result in

pituitary cell hypertrophy, hyperplasia and

eventually pituitary neoplasia46

. Thus the

disruption of the testes-pituitary axis may

contribute to the causation of both testicular and

pituitary destructions. Alternatively, this

reduction could result from decreased viability of

Leydig cells as a consequence of the necrobiotic

effects of toxicants such as Cd47,48

.

Additionally, the data revealed a

significant reduction in both serum and testicular

aromatase in Cd treated rats, while the

administration of either DPP or DPS caused a

significant elevation in this parameter. The ability

of the testis to convert irreversibly androgens into

estrogens is related to the presence of a

microsomal enzymatic complex named

aromatase, which is composed of a specific

glycoprotein, the cytochrome P450 aromatase

(P450arom). In the rat testis the P450arom has

been immunolocalized not only in Leydig cells

but also in germ cells and especially in elongated

spermatids49

producing a significant amount of

the estradiol in the testes50

. It can be concluded

that a complex balance of testosterone, estradiol

and aromatase in the testes confirms a highly

regulated hormonal interaction in the male51

.

As evident from the present data there is

a significant decrease in testicular TAC and GSH

levels as well as SOD and CAT activities

accompanied with significant increase in the lipid

peroxidation product (MDA) level and XO

activity in CdCl2 treated group confirming that

Cd caused testicular oxidative stress. Ikediobi et

al.52

demonstrated that the toxic effect of CdCl2 on

the testes is known to deplete glutathione and

protein-bound sulfhydryl groups, which caused

enhanced production of reactive oxygen species

(ROS) such as superoxide ion, hydroxyl radicals

and hydrogen peroxide. El-Neweshy et

al.53

observed a significant increase in testicular

oxidative stress reflected by the significant

elevation of MDA and a significant depletion of

GSH, which caused irreversible testicular cell

damage. The decreased level of GSH in the testis,

as recorded by Imafidon et al.48

can be attributed

to its excessive use by the testicular tissue to

scavenge the free radicals that were generated

following exposure to Cd toxicity and or reduced

GSH production by the tissue; a consequence

evidently enhanced by the increased use of SOD

in the oxidative process which resulted in its

reduced testicular level.

The administration of CdCl2 also resulted

in histopathological gonadal lesions, such as

testicular damage in seminiferous tubules (STs),

Leydig cells and Sertoli cells in addition to

decreases in the spermatogonial population and

number of spermatozoa. These results run parallel

with the previous studies of El-Neweshy et

al.53

and Eleawa et al.42

who revealed that the

testicular injury was confirmed by marked

alterations in the histological structure of the Cd-

treated rats testes where it exhibited degeneration,

necrosis and atrophy of almost all of the STs with

incomplete to complete spermatogenic arrest. Cd

enters the seminiferous tubules through a breach

of the blood-testis barrier and causes focal

testicular necrosis and dystrophy with consequent

reduction in germ cell numbers, leading to

infertility54

.

El-Sayed El-Habibi et al.

2187

On the other hand, the supplementation

of DPP or DPS extracts significantly improved

the sperm quality, which may be due to DPP

estradiol and flavonoid components55

or to its

scavenging properties that is said to be the main

important effects on the sperm parameters56,57

.

Furthermore, phenol and tocopherol profiles of

DPS were found to be a rich source of natural

phenolic compounds, which was one of the main

reasons for its better oxidative stability58

.

Moreover, DPP and DPS co-

administration showed a significant increase in

sex hormones, which is in accordance with Abedi

et al.59

. This effect may be due to the presence of

flavonoids, steroids, saponins and estradiol

compounds in DPP that affect the hypothalamus

pituitary axis and have thus increased

concentrations of these hormones through raising

the level of luteinizing hormones (LH) leading to

stimulate estradiol levels and endogenous

testosterone levels57,60

.

Shagauo and Davidson61

showed that

DPP is capable of releasing LH hormone by

affecting hypothalamus axis which increases

secretion of gonadotropin releasing hormone

(GnRH). Concerning DPS extract, Ammar et

al.62

reported the presence of different sterols

such as; campasterol, stigmasterol, b-amyrin and

b-sitosterol which exhibited a remarkable

antioxidant and estrogen like activity which can

lead to increase the mentioned hormones.

Additionally, there was a significant

increase in the levels of TAC, GSH, as well as

SOD and CAT activities associated with

significant decrease in MDA and XO activities in

the testis of rats co-administrated with either DPP

or DPS. These results are in harmony with24

who

reported that the antioxidative effect of DPP is

mainly due to its phenolic components, such

anthocyanins, procyanidins and coumaric

acid25

.The antioxidant activity of phenolic

compounds is a result of their redox properties,

which can play an important role in absorbing

and neutralizing free radicals, quenching singlet

and triplet oxygen, or decomposing peroxides63

.

Additionally, the decreased MDA level

associated with elevated other antioxidants in

DPS rat group may be attributed also to the wide

range of phenolic compounds in DPS including p-

coumaric, ferulic and sinapic acids, flavonoids

and procyanidins25

.

The administration of DPP or DPS

caused significant suppress of Cd induced

histopathological damage in testicular tissues. It

is reported that free radicals induce oxidative

damage that is resulted in destructive testicular

architecture causing male infertility, so the DPP

administration showed an antioxidant effect, as

evidenced by improved GSH and restored LPO in

the Cd-treated rats' testes. Thus, DPP can

ameliorate Cd-induced oxidative stress in the

testicular tissues, as evidenced by the renewal of

spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubules and

normalisation of the testicular

histoarchitecture53,64

. Investigations have also

reported that DPP extracts have the capacity to

improve this ultration is attributed to its content

of estrogenic materials that are considered as

gonad-stimulating compounds65

where estrogen is

involved in regulating the renewal of

spermatogonial stem cell66

. Vayalil55

and Bashir

et al.67

also attributed the positive effect of DPS

on the testicular architecture to its antioxidant

effect that was reported to possess both

androgenic and antioxidant properties.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the data showed that Cd can

induce significant spermatological damage,

oxidative stress and histopathological alterations

in the testicular tissue of male rats 30 days after

exposure, ultimately resulting in infertility.

Remarkably, administration of DPP and DPS

once daily for 30 days effectively prevented the

deleterious effects of Cd. The pro-fertility

properties of DPP and DPS are mainly achieved

through its endocrine-mediated effects, consistent

with their vital role in the antioxidant systems

that protect against Cd damage, and possibly due

to their prevention of oxidative damage to

testicular tissues. Also it can be concluded that

DPP is more effective than DPS in ameliorating

the above mentioned infertility features.

Taken together, our findings support the

hypothesis that the testis is very sensitive to Cd,

which can induce testicular damage and infertility

that can be blocked by the therapeutic

administration with DPP or DPS.

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